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Friday, October 5, 2012

Pilot Season: 666 Park Avenue (Campy with a Dash of Horror)

There is a certain division in horror, one that I think most
people are reasonably aware of, even peripherally. There is high horror, like The Ring or Rosemary’s Baby or The
Shining.

And then there’s camp horror, like Evil Dead and anything by Roger Corman and Fright Night. 666 Park Avenue
falls into this second category. It’s so, so camp.

Which is, frankly, fine. This is a show that airs on ABC on
Sunday nights after Once Upon a Time.
Camp, my dear, is perfect. But before we get to all that, let’s run down the
show particulars.

666 Park Avenue is
an hour-long about an evil building. Essentially. Rachael Taylor (of last
year’s flop Charlie’s Angels) and Dave
Annable (didn’t care) play Jane and Henry, a cute couple just moved to New
York. They need a place to stay while Henry works for the Mayor’s office, and Jane
looks for an architecture job. Awww.

Anyway, into their lives looms The Drake, a behemoth of a
building run by the mysterious and creepy Gavin and Olivia Doran (Terry O’Quinn
and Vanessa Williams). The Doran’s offer Jane a job as the building’s resident
manager, a sweet gig that comes with a dreamy apartment and possible work on
the renovations.

Obviously, though, things are not as they seem. The Dorans
are Evil with a capital E, and out for Jane and Henry’s souls. All the people
who live in the building are under their control, and sometimes it seems like
the building itself is enforcing the contracts. In fact, in one memorable
scene, we (SPOILERS) learn that the building itself is actually made of the
souls of the damned. Which is cool. Gross, but cool.

Like I said above, this is camp horror at its finest. Yes,
it’s a little silly to watch Rachael Taylor wandering around clearly suspicious
hallways in her jammies, and it’s ridiculously silly wondering why the elevator
is trying to kill that lady, but the show works. It works because you have no
freaking clue what is going on with most of the characters at any given time.
It’s character-based camp horror, and I enjoy the crap out of it.

What primarily sells the show, of course, is the
performances. O’Quinn and Williams sparkle as the pair of evil socialites. They
steal every scene they’re in, which is fine, because Taylor and Annable, nice
as they seem, aren’t really up to the business of anchoring a show yet.

It works. It’s fun and it works.

In contrast to that other prime-time horror show, American Horror Story, which I am aware
has been moved from FOX to FX, 666 Park
Avenue doesn’t rely on sex thrills to make the show spooky. That was really
my problem with AHS, seeing it focus
solely on our ability to be grossed or freaked out by some super-kinky sex. I’m
not saying it wasn’t freaksome, I’m more saying I was insulted. Try harder, please.

666, however,
doesn’t seem to be trying harder, and I don’t much mind. It ultimately comes
down to the attitude of the show. ABC is clearly going for a soapy, fun, spooky
hour of television that titillates and tantalizes. Not too scary, but not too nice
either. It’s a good mix, and perfect for the network.

Also perfect for the network is the gender parity on the
show. Jane is the more prominent character out of Henry-and-Jane, which is
helped by Taylor’s general doe-eyed innocence. Her scenes with Williams are fun
because the two actors really couldn’t be more different. And, as always, I
enjoy the crap out of a show that effortlessly breezes through the Bechdel
Test.

I’m not saying that 666
Park Avenue is the perfect show, or even that it’s your cup of tea. It’s camp
horror with a dash of nighttime soap mixed in, which isn’t a super common tea.
But it’s fun, and it’s well done. So, you might as well try.